In the event of a price cap for imports from Russia, Austria fears for security of supply. EU Minister Edtstadler fears that “there will simply no longer be any gas from Russia”.
Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) has spoken out in view of the expected EU proposals for a “clear no” to the price cap on Russian gas imports. “We are against a general cap on gas prices for imports from Russia. Why? Because it’s about our security of supply,” said Edtstadler on Tuesday before an EU Council of Ministers in Luxembourg.
This is linked to the concern “that we would simply not get any more gas from Russia,” he said Edtstadler further. “We can’t afford that.” Austria has already reduced its dependence on Russian gas from 80 to 50 percent. A general stop would be “fatal”.
Edtstadler expects the EU Commission to propose specific solutions for joint gas purchasing by the EU states. This is “not an easy thing” and one must also speak to the companies concerned. However, she believes that the EU Commission’s proposals will make it operationally possible to buy gas together.
“The national implementation of models in the field of energy does not work,” said Edtstadler. Austria has already taken many and expensive measures to relieve the population. European solutions must now be found. The so-called “Iberian model” should be followed as an approach to separate the gas price from the electricity price.
New price index for LPG planned
On Tuesday afternoon, the European Commission presented rules for joint gas purchases by the EU. The project is part of a new package in the fight against high energy prices. With its concentrated market power, the EU wants to negotiate lower prices. According to a draft, gas companies should bundle their demand for at least 15 percent of the prescribed storage capacity. This amount would then be negotiated centrally with gas suppliers.
Part of the proposals is also a new price index for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to the gas price index of the trading venue TTF. Many sales contracts in the EU are based on the TTF, which fluctuates greatly. According to the draft, the EU Commission also wants to keep a door open for a possible gas price cap: While work is being done on the TTF reform, a flexible price cap on the TTF could be temporarily used as a last resort in the event of extreme prices.
The proposal still has to be negotiated by EU countries and could be adopted in November. The question of a price cap for gas should also be an issue at the EU summit of heads of state and government at the end of the week.
MEPs are pushing for joint gas purchasing
MEPs are pushing for a speedy implementation of joint gas purchasing by the EU states. “It makes sense to buy gas together,” said ÖVP delegation leader Angelika Winzig on Tuesday in Strasbourg. “The joint purchase would have been needed months ago,” said SPÖ delegation leader Andreas Schieder.
Schieder pointed out that the EU states would also have to find a common distribution key. He pleaded for further regulatory market and price interventions, for example on the electricity market. The argument that Russia would no longer deliver then does not apply. Schieder warned that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was using gas as a means of exerting pressure and would want to throttle gas supplies one way or the other.
Tiny was rather skeptical about other expected proposals from the EU Commission. It is questionable whether an allegedly new price index will also have a price-lowering effect. The EU Commission apparently also wants to propose an emergency mechanism for the gas supply of the EU countries. This would have to be contractually secured beforehand, said the ÖVP delegation leader.
According to Neos MEP Claudia Gamon, joint gas procurement by the EU is “the key point”. Going it alone would drive prices up, she said. However, the EU efforts are only at the beginning. Regarding Austria’s concerns about stopping Russian gas supplies, Gamon said: “In Brussels nobody expects that there will be Russian gas next year.”
Austria and other Central and Eastern European countries need Russian gas to get through the winter, said Green MEP Thomas Waitz. The willingness for a total stop is not great. Excessive market intervention could also further fuel inflation. However, Waitz emphasized that the European efforts to fill the gas storage facilities have so far been successful.
The FPÖ MEP Georg Mayer spoke out against a gas price cap. This would have the effect that other countries would buy the gas that was available, thereby driving up prices even more. “We reject a gas price cap because it is a boomerang and does not fall within the competence of the European Commission.”
(APA/dpa)